Flight
by An Orange Peon
Summary: He met her on a plane. An innocent enough coincidence. What he did not know, what he could not have known, was just how that meeting would draw him into a side of the world he never thought possible.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Flight**

When the girl came to sit down beside him, Alex Mercer paid her little mind. He only looked up from the outdated magazine in his hands to give her a brief once-over. She was a small girl, young, and had long golden hair, fair skin, and clear green eyes. She wore a simple dress made of a thick teal fabric which was devoid of decorations – ideal for traveling. The only piece of ornament that she wore was a silver cross around her neck.

The girl dragged behind her an over-sized suitcase, which she tried to push up into the overhead bin. Despite its size, she somehow managed to get it up above her head, using the crown of her skull to help balance the beast. But the overhead was too high for one of her height and the weight of the suitcase was too much. She began to teeter perilously. The other passengers watched with a morbid curiosity as they wondered whether or not she would fall. Alex quickly stood up and caught the suitcase before that could happen and stuffed it into the overhead for her.

"Thank you," the girl sighed with relief as they sat down again. "I think I put too much stuff into my suitcase." She laughed sheepishly, a clear bell-like sound.

"You're welcome," Alex replied as he flipped through his magazine again. Damn. He had lost his page.

"Could I ask what your name is, Mister?" the girl asked. "I'm Asia Argento."

Alex glanced over at the window to check his reflection. His hair was still a bright fiery red and freckles still dotted his tanned skin. His clothes was still a casual outfit consisting of a gray t-shirt and blue jeans. It was the face he had chosen to wear in order to get into the airport. Alex Mercer was a known terrorist, and though he doubted that the Italian airport security would be on the lookout for an American terrorist, it never hurt to be careful.

Alex turned back to the girl and effected a polite smile, the way the man whose face he was wearing would have. "My name is David Salone. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Asia replied. She looked relieved that he was conversing with her, though Alex wondered why. Had her first impression of him been that bad? No, that couldn't be it. So far all he had done was help her put her suitcase away. "So you're going to Japan, too?"

"That's where this flight is taking all of us, yes."

"Oh, right." Asia laughed again, more nervously this time. Her face had flushed slightly as she realized the stupidity of her question. She looked around while wringing her hands together in front of her. "Um... do you know how long it takes for us to get there? To Japan, I mean."

"About twelve hours?" Alex shrugged. "Just go to sleep while we're flying. The time will go by more quickly."

"If only I could sleep," the girl muttered darkly.

"Why can't you?" Alex asked. "Do you have insomnia?"

"Huh?" Asia blinked at him. She had not meant for Alex to hear her. "Oh, no no. Nothing like that. It's just... well... this is my first time on a plane and..." She looked around again before leaning in conspiratorially. "Are you sure we'll be okay? What if the plane crashes or something?"

"Don't worry about it," Alex said. "Plane crashes are really rare."

"That means that they _do_ happen," Asia argued. "What if it happens to this one?"

"It won't."

"But if we do?"

"Trust me, we won't."

"But what _if?_"

"Then I guess we'll all die," Alex responded irritably.

The girl's face blanched. "Do you... do you really think so?" she fretted. "Oh. Maybe... maybe I should go to the pilots. We could pray together. For a safe flight."

Alex snorted and said nothing, his attention already returning to a new article in his magazine. Meanwhile, Asia came to a conclusion on her own.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'll do," Asia declared. "I'll be right back, Mister Salone."

The girl stood up and walked down the aisle towards the cabin at the front of the plane. She was stopped there by a flight attendant and after a brief exchange of words, she returned to her seat, dejected. "They said I'm not allowed in the cabin and that the pilots are too busy to pray with me."

"Mmhmm..." Alex turned another page. He couldn't help but to wonder, what had this girl been expecting?

"I know!" the girl declared brightly. "Would you like to pray with me instead, Mister Salone?"

"I'm not religious."

"That's okay. You can think of it as a good luck charm."

"No."

"Please?"

Alex tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a long-suffering groan – a gesture Asia misconstrued for a sign of acceptance. She bowed her head and clasped her hands in front of her and began to speak quiet words of prayer. Alex pinched the bridge of his nose.

This was going to be one long flight.

* * *

Alex eventually came to the realization that while he didn't particularly dislike Asia Argento, she still annoyed him. She was polite, spoke gently and was a friendly soul. The problem was that she spoke to him _relentlessly._ Seconds to minutes; minutes to hours; hours upon hours of talking and talking and _talking._

It wasn't her fault. Alex knew that. The girl was just afraid of flying in a plane for the first time, and talking was just her way of coping with the stress – a fairly common response by those suffering from aviophobia. But his patience had limits, and he had never been an altogether patient man in the first place.

"Asia," Alex broke in on the middle of the girl's story of some cat she had befriended a month prior. "I'm tired now and I want to go to sleep for a few hours."

"Oh, of course," the girl said hastily. "I'm sorry. I was going on for so long about myself I didn't even think of how tired you might be. We've been flying for a long time now, haven't we? Yeah, it's not surprising if you'd want to sleep. I'm sorry. I should have been more considerate and... I... um... I'll just be quiet now," she finished meekly.

"Right." Alex closed his eyes. "Thanks."

Finally, some peace and quiet.

_Skritch. Skritch._

… Or not.

Alex sighed as Asia began to fidget uncomfortably in her seat. Deprived of her conversational partner, she was once more attentive to the fact that she was, in her mind, on a potential flying deathtrap. The constant rustling of her dress as she squirmed in place grated on his nerves. After ten minutes of this, he finally gave up on trying to escape from the girl.

"You know what? Never mind." He opened his eyes. "I'm not as tired as I thought."

"Really?" Asia brightened.

"Yes," Alex sighed. Oh, well. If he was going to have to listen to Asia talk, it may as well be in a proper conversation rather than a one-sided speech. "Anyway, why are you going to Japan? You don't really look like a tourist."

"Ah... that..." Asia smiled without quite reaching the corners of her eyes. Alex wondered if he had said something wrong. "I'm being... transferred, I suppose you could say, to a church in Japan. I'm to live there with my new convent brothers and sisters."

"I see," Alex nodded. "Japan doesn't have a large Christian population, though."

"No," Asia sighed. "No it doesn't."

"You don't want to go there?"

"I suppose not," Asia admitted. "This will be my first time going to a foreign country by myself, living with strangers."

"Sounds like you lived a pretty sheltered life."

"I guess I did. I was... I mean, I _am_ a nun."

Alex arched his eyebrow. "At your age? Aren't you like, what, fourteen? Fifteen?"

"Please don't make fun of me," Asia pouted. "I'm seventeen. And it's your faith that counts, not your age."

Alex shrugged.

Asia looked past him and out the window. She stared off at the sprawling sea of white clouds for a long pregnant moment.

"First flight, first time living in another country, first time going anywhere alone – with this trip, I will be experiencing many things for the first time," Asia said sadly.

"Are you afraid?"

"A little," Asia said. "I'm trying to think of this as a trial God set before me to test me. I'm also trying to think of this as a good chance to see more of the world that He created." She sighed a long forlorn sigh. "I'm sorry. I think I'm rambling again."

"No, you're fine."

Asia smiled at him. "What about you, Mister Salone? Why are you going to Japan?"

"I'm just traveling."

"Do you travel often?"

"A little. This will be my first time going this far east though."

"Then I hope it will be a good experience for both of us."

And like that, the two of them continued to pass their time talking of mundane, unimportant things, until Asia finally lost her energy and fell asleep. When next she awoke, the plane had landed in Japan. There they bid their farewells and went their separate ways.

* * *

The next time Alex saw Asia was by pure chance. From the far side of an otherwise empty park, he saw her sitting on a bench with a local boy, chatting cheerfully with him as she held a yellow mouse doll tightly in her arms – a gift from the boy, Alex assumed.

_Good for her,_ he thought to himself. Perhaps a date would help her acclimate to her new environment. He turned to move on quietly. They were not so close that he needed to call out to her as a friend, and her date was none of his concern besides. But as he began to walk away, he felt something nip at the edges of his consciousness: a rush of wind, the rustling of feathers, but something too heavy and loud to be a bird. He turned back around and saw a woman held aloft in the air by two black feather wings.

"What the...?" Alex muttered to himself. Keeping low to the ground, he crept closer to them and hid himself behind a nearby tree to observe.

"Yuuma?" the boy said with disbelief as he stared up at the crow. "W-what are you...?"

"Surprised to see me?" said the crow. "I suppose that makes the two of us. To think that you're still alive, and as a devil, no less. The work of that Sitri bitch or the Gremory whore, I presume?"

"Don't call her that," the boy said heatedly.

"Why? Does it make you mad?" The crow laughed. "At least you've fallen into the role of the obedient slave well enough."

"Shut up!" the boy snapped. "Rias saved me after you... you... you tried to kill me. _Why?_"

"Because you disgust me," the crow replied. "Because you were a useless specimen of the human race. Because you had no future worth mentioning. Because a hundred other reasons, take your pick, it doesn't matter. That's not what I'm here for." She looked past the boy, at Asia, who was cowering behind his back. "I'm here for you."

"I... Miss Raynare..." Asia stammered.

"What do you want with her?" the boy demanded.

"She's one of us," Raynare said. "One of _mine._ I'm just bringing my little runaway girl back home."

"Miss Raynare," Asia said meekly, "I... I don't want to go back... not back there."

"I wasn't asking." The crow descended to the ground and walked past the boy to Asia. She held out a hand to her. "Come, we're leaving."

"She's not going anywhere." The boy grabbed Raynare by the wrist. "Not with you, at least."

"Do not _touch_ me," Raynare snarled and drove a shining fist into the boy's face. He let out a shrill shriek as he reeled away from her. There was no noticeable bruise on his face, but only because the skin where he had been punched was burnt black and horrific, as though someone had pressed a hot iron pan against his face.

"Issei!" Asia screamed as she rushed to his side and put her hands to his face. A green glow emanated from her hands turning the burnt skin pink and hale once more. "Are you all right?"

"I'm okay," the boy growled as he got back to his feet. "Thank you. Now stand back."

A crimson metal gauntlet materialized around Issei's left hand and he charged forward to engage the crow in close combat.

The boy was fast, Alex gave him that. But his method of fighting was neither skillful nor wild or animalistic – it was simply crude and clumsy. His fists flailed about in front of him in ungainly swings, each thrown on a desperate hope that one might hit by chance or fortune. However, the crow dodged each blow with ease, smiling lightly all the while. She didn't strike back against the boy. She contented herself to letting his fists brush past her by a hairsbreadth, taking the boy's measure.

When the boy began to slow down from the fatigue of his nonstop barrage, that was when Raynare struck back. She dove in diagonally past a straight punch and slapped her hand over his face, digging her fingers into his flesh. Her hand became infused with light. The acrid smell of burning meat began to fill the air.

"_Ahhhh!"_ Issei screamed as he clawed at Raynare's arms to try to break free. But the light spread from her hand all the way up to her shoulder like a long glove, and the moment his hands touched her arm, they too became seared.

"Stop!" Asia flung herself at Raynare, who didn't even budge at her weight. "You're killing him!"

"And?" Raynare said, not even looking at her. "What does it matter if I do?"

"Please," Asia said. "I'll go back with you. I won't leave again. I'm begging you, just let him go. _Please._"

"Don't... say... that... Asia..." Issei growled. His face was beyond recognition, but still his eyes blazed with defiance. He grabbed Raynare's arm with both hands, ignoring how his skin burned and flaked away like ash, and swung his leg up, hard. He caught Raynare above the hip, forcing her to loosen her grip just enough for him to break free. He was unsteady on his feet. The slightest breeze would have knocked him over. Yet still did he raise his fists. "I said... she's not going... with... you..."

That was the last of his strength, because when the last word left his lips, he crumpled to the ground and did not move.

"This bastard," Raynare hissed as she clutched her side. A spear of light formed in her other hand. "This piece of trash!"

"NO!" Asia screamed and threw herself between the boy and the crow. "Don't. Don't kill him."

"He hurt me," Raynare snarled. "He _hurt_ me."

"Please, Miss Raynare," Asia said with tears in her eyes. "I beg you to have _mercy._"

Raynare gripped her spear so tightly that it trembled in her hand. She raised it into the air, and for a moment Alex feared that she intended to run both Asia and the boy through. But then she stabbed the spear into the ground and forced herself to slowly exhale.

"If I kill him here, it will cause problems with his master later," she said. "Fine, heal him. Then we leave."

"Yes," Asia sighed with relief. "Thank you."

Asia turned her attention to restoring the boy's physical health. Alex waited for her to finish her task before rising from his hiding place. The flesh of his right arm began to slag down its length like molten metal, becoming long and lined with blades, tipped at the very end by two barbed spikes.

He reared this arm back, then pitched it forward. The arm shot across the air like a snake, stretching to many times its original length. Asia was the first to see it, and she let out a startled cry, alerting Raynare at the last second. She saw the barbed end aiming for her back and fell sideways to avoid it. The whipfist only managed to catch a fistful of feathers from her wing.

_Damn._ Alex's arm turned into a crescent blade nearly as long as he was tall and as wide as he was at its center. He ran forward, but Raynare grabbed Asia, wrapped her wings around both of them, and they disappeared from sight.

The content of Alex's eyes changed immediately. The world became painted in solid shades of color. The places of cooler temperature appeared in blues and purples, while places of warmth and heat came out in varying hues of red and orange. Alex looked around the park and found that only he and Issei remained. Raynare and Asia were no longer here.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Alex's eyes and arms turned back to normal. He looked at the boy unconscious near his feet, at the gauntlet that remained on his arm. Where had that come from? And the crow woman, where had she taken Asia? How? What was she? And as for Asia herself, how had she healed the boy? Was that... magic?

Alex shook his head. None of that mattered right now. He did not want to leave Asia to whatever fate Raynare had in store for her, because whatever she had planned, it could not be good. He could get answers after he saved Asia. The only trouble was where to start looking.

He would not be able to find Raynare by tracking her scent because the trail ran cold where he stood. Searching the entire city inch by inch was likewise impossible. The city was too large for him to blindly comb through.

_But maybe there's another way._ Alex looked down at the unconscious boy as the gears began to turn in his mind. Here it was, a clue that had been left behind for him to follow. He crouched down and reached for the boy.

* * *

By the time Alex arrived at the dilapidated church that served as Raynare's hideout, the sun had begun to set in the horizon, casting a fiery blaze across the sky. But here in the forest on the outskirts of the city, precious little of that dying light reached past the trees. It was already like night here, and the creatures of the night were making their presence known. In the distance, owls hooted, wild cats padded softly through the brushes, and the night bugs made their song.

Thick wooden doors served as the main point of entrance into the church. They were old to the point of being ancient, splintered and molding from the long siege of the elements. Alex gave the doors a push to test them. He could not hear the sound of a lock or chain on the other side. Despite that, the doors did not budge, not because of its rusty hinges, but because some other mechanism locked them in place.

Alex took a step back and circled the church. There were no other doors, which meant that he would either need to break in from the main entrance or find an alternate means in. Stained glass windows decorated the upper parts of the walls. They were boarded up with planks of wood, but those could be easily dislodged, though not without some level of noise. If there was anyone directly inside, they would notice, no matter how silent he tried to be.

Thermal vision showed that inside only one person stood on guard on the ground level; a male, judging from the outline of his body. Further below the ground, in some kind of cavernous basement, there was another person. Someone with wings.

_There you are, Raynare,_ Alex thought. _Wait... where's Asia?_

No matter where he looked, Alex could not find Asia's glowing silhouette. He pursed his lips tightly together. Four claws took the place of the fingers of his right hand, while his hand and arm became a twisted black mass of muscles and tendons. Each claw was a foot long and razor sharp, more like daggers or small swords than the natural weaponry of beasts.

He thrust his claws into the ground. There his hands began to morph again. His claws stretched out and tunneled their way forward, below the foundation of the church until they lay beneath the sentry. There they burst upward through the floor, perforating the man with spears of hard biomass.

With the guard dead, Alex retracted his claws and let them give way to fingers once more. He leaned against the door and slowly pushed against it. The rusty hinges groaned with effort, before finally giving way. The doors cracked open, and Alex slipped inside.

Scattered pieces of wood showed where the pastor's pulpit had once been, just behind the ruined body of a silver haired man. It had been destroyed by Alex as collateral damage, revealing the hidden stairwell beneath. He descended down the steps until he reached the basement.

Fluorescent lights were wired to the ceiling, but they had fallen apart from age and disuse. Instead, the entire room was brightly lit with orbs of light hanging in the air like chandeliers. Steel pillars served as support, holding up the massive weight of the entire church above them.

Alex switched off his thermal vision while hiding behind one of the pillars. Raynare was standing on top of a constructed altar, playing with a green glow in her hands. Beside her was a steel cross. Chained to that cross...

_Asia!_

For what felt like an eternity, Alex stood there, rooted to the spot. He stared at Asia. She had no external wounds, though her clothes were in tatters, but she wasn't moving. And her body... Alex switched back to thermal sights and then back again. Her body was so _cold._

Suddenly, an overwhelming desire to put the crow in his hands tear her into pieces filled Alex. He did not want to believe it, but the evidence lay before his very eyes. Asia was dead. And it was the crow's fault.

Alex emerged from his hiding place, seething, and sprinted towards the altar. His heavy footsteps caught the crow's attention, and she turned to meet him, too late. In a single bound, he leaped to the top of the altar and collided bodily into the crow. Her arms came up to try to shield herself from the onslaught of razor sharp claws that carved away at her flesh and bones. They fell, but the crow managed to shake Alex off in the air and caught the air with her wings. He landed on the ground; she stayed afloat.

"You," Raynare hissed, trying hard not to cry out with pain. Her arms were bloody ribbons. Fingers were missing and the whites of the bones could have been seen if they had not been dyed crimson by the bloody meat dangling there. "You again."

Before Alex's very eyes, the same green light from before, the light that Raynare had been playing with and the light that Asia had used before that, covered the crow's arms. The flesh regenerated, the bones became fixed, and lost fingers regrown. It was a little like watching himself regenerate, Alex thought, though at a much faster pace.

"Who are you?" Raynare demanded. _"What_ are you? _Do you even know who I am?"_

"I've got no fuckin' idea." Alex's left arm transformed into the whipfist. "Why did you kill Asia? What the hell did she do to deserve that?"

"I don't need to explain myself to you," Raynare spat out. "Besides, what relation do you have with her? I've kept an eye on her from the moment she stepped foot in this city. You've never even met each other!"

The whipfist shot out snake-fast, streaking through the air like black lightning. Raynare dove down to avoid it, bringing up a spear of light to angle the bladed tentacle away from her. Alex retracted his arm and tried again, and again the crow dodged. But this time, as soon as she moved to avoid the first strike, a second whipfist cut through the air and caught the crow by her legs. The blades chewed through her boots and into her muscles, preventing her from slipping away. Alex pulled and reeled her back to the ground, her struggling all the while.

Alex grabbed Raynare by her long black hair once she was in arm's reach, pulling her tightly by the roots. Her forced her head up, and she glared at him defiantly. A low guttural sound rose up from his throat, unbidden.

"Why did you kill Asia?" Alex said again.

"Release me right now," Raynare replied. "I am Raynare of Grigori. If you lay another finger on me, you will become the enemy of all fallen angels."

"WHY DID YOU KILL HER?" Alex roared, shaking her violently by the head. "She was a little _girl!_ What the _fuck_ was the point of killing her?"

Raynare shouted and plunged a small dagger, forged from the same light-stuff as the spear, straight into Alex's face. For a moment, her face twisted into the curl of victory. A second later, her eyes widened with horror.

"That wasn't smart," Alex said as his body slowly pushed the dagger out of his face and the hole filled in with new flesh and organ.

"What are you?" Raynare said again, whispering this time. "What in the world _are_ you?" When Alex didn't reply, she stabbed him again and shrieked, "Die, you damn monster!"

Alex's spare hand came up and grabbed Raynare by the wrist. He squeezed and crushed the bones, and the maintained his grip so that Raynare couldn't heal it again.

"If you kill me," Raynare gasped, "if you kill me, you will make an enemy of Grigori. Do you understand? You will have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. My comrades will hunt you down and kill are you. Are you truly prepared for that? Are you prepared to run and hide for the rest of your life for some girl you don't even know?"

"I do know her," Alex said. "I sat beside her on the flight here."

"Just for that?" Raynare said disbelievingly. "You would throw away your life for a person like that?"

The corners of Alex's lips twitched upwards as many tendrils of flesh grew out from his body and connected to Raynare's. "I'm not throwing anything away. By the time I'm done here, they won't even know who to look for."

* * *

_I balled my hands into tight fists and took a breath. The door in front of me had never seemed so daunting before. I wanted to leave and run away, pretend that I had never received my orders at all, but I couldn't. There was something I needed to ask; something I needed to hear. So I knocked and entered the room once I was given permission._

"_Lord Azazel." I bowed from the waist. "Did you call for me?"_

"_I did." He stood there, looking at me, dressed in his fine clothes and as handsome as ever, and yet my heart did not flutter with the usual excitement. "I have an assignment for you, if you're willing."_

"_Of course. For you, I would do anything."_

_He smiled at my words, _at me,_ and some of my fears began to melt away. "Your sentiment is appreciated."_

_It was not mere sentiment, I wanted to say, it was the truth. Instead, I held my tongue and waited for him to continue._

"_I need you to go to Japan and infiltrate the Gremory territory there."_

_I frowned but nodded. "Yes, my lord. Though if you would have me assassinate the ruling devil there, I fear that the task might be a little beyond me."_

"_What? Assassinate?" Lord Azazel looked startled. "Oh, good heavens, no. No, I just need you to go to Japan to keep an eye on this boy." He handed me a small picture of a boy and my lips instinctively curled with disdain. He was so unlike my beloved lord. He had a foolish countenance to him, and plain to the point of ugliness. "His name is Issei Hyoudou. Observe him from a distance and report back to me if you notice anything out of the ordinary. My fears may be unfounded, but if they're true..." My lord shook his head. "In any case, can you do this thing for me?"_

"_Of course, Lord Azazel. I shall leave at once." But despite my words, I did not leave. It was now or never. If I wanted to dispel the doubts and fears that hung in my mind, then I needed to act _now._ "Before I go, might I ask a question of another matter?"_

"_What is it?"  
_

"_Is it true that you sent for Asia Argento to be brought to you?"_

"_Where did you hear about that?"_

"_It is no great secret amongst the rest of Grigori."_

"_Really?" He looked amused. "What else do they say about me?"_

"_They say... they say that you've fallen in love with her and that you're using her recent excommunication to draw her to your side." Quickly, I added, "Of course, I know that those rumors are all just nonsense. She's just an insignificant little girl, after all."_

"_I would not be so quick to disregard her," Lord Azazel warned me."I suppose you could say it's love, in a sense. She possesses Twilight Healing, a most valuable Sacred Gear. I would sincerely love to have the chance to study it more closely. But do not concern yourself with that matter. It's being taken care of by others. Hmm? Raynare? Are you listening to me?"_

"_Yes... yes, of course. I'll just... I'll just get going on my mission."_

"_Thank you. And remember, Raynare: Avoid direct contact with both the boy and the devils of that land."_

* * *

Alex clutched his head as the last rush of his newly gained memories finished playing in his mind.

"Mmm... damn..." he groaned. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head slowly, rubbing at his temples with his thumbs. It took minutes for the throbbing pain to finally recede.

Whenever Alex consumed someone, he gained for himself all of their knowledge, skills, and memories. He typically preferred to assimilate them slowly, picking through them over a longer period of time. But his natural instincts, and the method he used when he had an immediate need for information, was absorbing it all in one go.

It was a painful process; reliving a person's entire life in the span of only a few seconds sent such a tremendous surge of information through his mind that it gave him debilitating headaches. The longer a person lived their life or the more that they had experienced, the more painful it was to consume them – and Raynare had lived a truly long life indeed. Longer than some civilizations and countries that now lay dead, in fact.

He knew what she was now: she was a fallen angel – an honest-to-goodness supernatural being. And he knew now what existed in this world: gods and devils and monsters and magic. Every myth was a fact; every tale told to children, truth.

It was a lot to take in.

Alex took solace in the fact that at least Raynare had been lying. She acted as a rogue agent against the orders of her boss. Chances were good that that even if Azazel found out who had killed his subordinate, if presented with evidence of her wrongdoing, he would not seek recompense for it.

The bad news was that Asia was still dead, and he knew exactly what Raynare had done to her, right down to the very last terrific detail.

She had, in a fit of jealousy, ripped Asia's soul in two in order to steal away Twilight Healing. By doing so, Raynare had hoped that she could transfer Azazel's attention from Asia to herself.

However, there was a chance that he could make things right. Hanging in the air where Raynare had once been was a orb of green light – the physical representation of Twilight Healing. Alex gently took it in his hands, carried it to the top of the altar and carefully pushed it back into Asia. It sank easily into her chest. Then he ripped the chains off her and carefully lowered her to the ground.

Her body was cold. Raynare had conducted the ritual to steal the Sacred Gear as soon as she had returned from the park. Asia's body was already in the process of decomposition, and her brain had long gone into a state of brain death.

He could fix that.

Though the method was something he was absolutely loathe to do, Alex resolved to do it anyway. He had a need for this girl. There was someone he cared about that needed this girl.

"Please don't come back wrong," Alex whispered before driving his hand straight into her stomach and releasing a specialized strain of the Blacklight virus into her bloodstream.

The virus coursed throughout the corpse, binding itself to all the dead or dying cells, infecting them, reactivating them, bringing them back to life and making them stronger than ever before. It took only a few minutes for the changes to complete. When Alex withdrew his hand, the hole in Asia's stomach mended itself immediately.

"Hey." Alex lightly patted her on the cheek. When she didn't stir, he urged her harder. "Hey, Asia. Wake up. Wake up!"

Alex placed his two forefingers to Asia's neck. He could feel a strong, steady pulse. She was definitely alive again, but she remained as silent and unmoving as the corpse she had been. But that was impossible. Alex had revived her physical body and placed her Sacred Gear back where it belonged. By all rights, she ought to be up and talking to him right now, or at least trying to kill him if she came back as a Runner.

Alex didn't understand. Had he failed? What was going on?

Any further thoughts was interrupted by a metal-clad fist that knocked Alex off the altar. He had been so absorbed by Asia that he had failed to notice the three people entering the basement and sneaking up behind him. He saw them now.

Two of them he recognized only by name from Raynare's memories. The short girl with hair so pale that it appeared white was Koneko Toujou, the Rook of Rias Gremory's peerage. The taller blond boy with swords in hand was Yuuto Kiba, the Knight of the same.

And then the last one, the one who had punched him, wore a crimson gauntlet over his left hand and had a furious look on his face.

"Oh," Alex sighed. "It's you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

There were three of them there, looking down at Alex from atop the altar, from the position they had stolen from him. He worked his jaw, rubbing it as he popped the joint back in place with casual disregard. He had been so focused on Asia that he had been taken by complete surprise by their sudden assault.

Indignant anger flared through Alex, and as he stood back up, he snarled, "What the hell was that?"

"That's my line," Issei Hyoudou spat back with equal vitriol. "What did you do to Asia?"

Alex blinked. The heat that had started to take his mind cooled, and he mouthed, "Ah." Now he understood why he had been attacked. They had seen him while he had his hand plunged into Asia's belly to infect her. From a third person's perspective, Alex could see how that act might appear more murderous than respiratory.

"Issei," Yuuto Kiba put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We have the sister. Let's get out of here before Raynare gets back."

"Yeah, okay," Issei nodded, and the three took off for the door. Koneko Toujou easily carried the unconscious nun in her arms, like little more than a doll.

Alex flung his hand towards the door, casting light and forming it into a wall that sealed the stairwell.

"Tsk," Kiba clicked his tongue, and the group of devils turned back around to face Alex.

"I won't stop you if you want to leave," Alex said, "but leave Asia with me."

"Are you kidding?" Issei said. "She's the entire reason why we're here!"

"I know," Alex replied. "You're here to save her from Raynare. You're too late for that."

"Bastard," Issei growled, but Alex shook his head.

"It's not what you think," he said. "I killed Raynare to save Asia. I did. So leave her with me."

"Liar," Issei said. "I saw you try to kill her, too."

"Check again." Alex jerked his chin at Asia's still body. Warily, Issei edged closer to Koneko and took a peek at the nun girl, never quite taking his eyes off of Alex all the while. Yet, once he had the chance to look, his gaze naturally drifted away from Alex, and widened.

"There's no wound." Issei put his fingers to Asia's neck. "She's breathing."

"Things aren't always what they look like," Alex said. "Now leave her and go. I need her help more than you."

"And why, exactly, should we trust you?" Kiba said calmly, never quite relaxing his grip on his swords. "You claim to have killed Raynare, but I see no corpse here, nor evidence that you might have done it elsewhere. And you've already proven yourself to be an angel yourself, of one type or the other. When one angel has already tried to kidnap this sister, why should we entrust her to another?"

Alex leveled a look at him. "An angel. Is that what you think I am?"

"Are you saying that you, who wields the holy light, is not?"

Alex breathed out through his nose. "It's not a request. I'm telling you, leave her and go."

"What if we don't?" Issei challenged daringly. "She's my friend. I'm not leaving her with someone like you."

"Then I'll kill you, if I have to."

"It would seem the negotiations have broken down, then," Kiba smiled. He spun on his heel, slashing both swords across the barrier of light. The black blades devoured the light greedily, sucking away every photon as a man in a desert drinks water. The path cleared, and Kiba urged them onwards. "Go! I'll hold him back."

Alex swore and leaped at the fleeing two devils. Kiba got in his way, bringing a sword down at his arm. Alex gave it to him, letting him cut it off so that he could continue forward with his momentum. He seized Koneko by the hair, causing her to yelp when he pulled her back, away from the stairs. She tumbled to the ground, losing her hold on Asia in the process. She slammed to the ground, still unconscious, with a meaty thunk. Alex did not worry about her, though. It would take much more than that to leave a mark.

"You're insane," Kiba said. It was his turn to have his eyes go wide with shock. He could not have expected that his foe would sacrifice his arm just to stop them from escaping, nor had he anticipated that Alex might regrow his lost limb, flesh, clothes, and all. When his hands arched, baring long, steely claws, Kiba's eyes finally narrowed. "I see. It seems I was wrong to call you an angel after all."

In going for Koneko, Alex had put himself in a position that he could not move from. Asia was close to his feet. To his front was Kiba; to his side, Koneko stood; and to his rear, Issei waited for the first opportunity to grab Asia and flee.

A shining sphere appeared in the palm of one clawed hand and thrown down at Alex's feet. Both the Knight and Rook turned their eye away just long enough for Alex to whirl about and cast a glowing rope that bound the equally shied Pawn from head to toe, immobilizing his body, though not his tongue. The light burned his skin even through his clothes, eliciting great cries of pain.

Kiba immediately rushed to Issei's side in order to cut his bindings. In that opening, Alex rushed to seize his one chance to deal with the most troublesome one of the three.

Alex could stand and guard over Asia all day against Issei and Kiba. They had not the raw power to forcibly move him from his post. The diminutive Rook did, however. From Raynare's memories, he knew the extent to which the Rook piece enhanced one's strength. In that small body lay enough raw power to match one of Elizabeth Greene's hunters or Blackwatch's supersoldiers.

However, that meant that Alex was accustomed to this sort of battle. Alex took two strides forward, while Koneko took three smaller ones to match him. But if she thought that he meant to clash fist against fist, she was mistaken. Alex jumped, flipping in the air to land facing her back. The little Rook was off-balance from having thrown her fist into empty air, allowing Alex to reach out, grab the devil by the ankle, lift her up and hurl her as hard as he could.

Unlike hunters or supersoldiers or Alex himself, Koneko's strength did not come from her physicality – it came from the Evil Piece that granted her the power of the Rook. Or in other words, magic. And without a mass of muscle to bolster her, Koneko was _light,_ as light as one would expect from a girl her size. She sailed through the air and landed on the wall on the far side of the room. She would survive the impact with minimal, if any, injuries, but it would take her time to get back to the fight, giving Alex just enough time finish the battle at hand.

Kiba had finished cutting the binds off Issei, and while the latter went for Asia, ignoring the burn marks that went around and around his body, the Knight charged forward to engage Alex.

This was something Alex was entirely unused to. He had faced enemies who were as fast, of course – but only in the long distances. He had never faced anyone as small and agile as this blond boy, and neither helicopters nor infected could make turns as sharp as he.

Claws cut helplessly through the air, and the Knight scored many smaller hits in response. No matter how much Alex tried to speed up, it was as though the Knight was always just one step faster.

Alex clicked his tongue and created another flash bomb, but the Knight was prepared for it. One black sword flickered out and cut the orb in half. The other went low, cutting Alex behind the knee. A tendon cut, and regrew, and Alex took a step back and transformed his left arm.

Kiba chased after Alex, jerking back at the last second only when he saw the mass of black tendrils coming for him. Each one was no bigger than his finger, but there were hundreds, _thousands_ of them, and each one was a living thing, spreading out like a net to surely capture their prey.

The Knight cut apart two dozen tendrils with a single swipe of his blade, yet their numbers did not thin. One grabbed hold of the sword. Another reinforced that hold. And suddenly all the tendrils were crawling up the sword, the arm that held it, and the body that it connected to, threatening to devour the Knight completely.

With the swords-devil captured, Alex turned his attention back to Issei. The boy had recovered Asia, holding her in his arms, but he did not budge. He could not. He had come to this underground room to rescue his friend. How could he escape by abandoning two more in the process?

Alex created another light barrier at the mouth of the stairwell and approached Issei, dragging Kiba behind him. Issei clenched his teeth, gently laid Asia back down on the ground, and raised his fists, one clad in a red metal gauntlet.

"Let him go, or else," Issei said quietly. Even he knew how hollow that threat was.

"Do as he says," Koneko said, just as quietly. She was to Alex's rear, but with Kiba taken hostage, she dared not to move against him.

"R...un... both... o...f... you..." Kiba choked out before the tendrils filled his mouth and quieted him.

"Last chance," Alex said. "Leave Asia behind, and I'll let you guys go. I'm not looking to hurt you."

Issei barked out a harsh laughter of disbelief. "Are you serious? You're 'not looking to hurt us?' You're about to kill him!" Issei jabbed a finger at Kiba.

"I gave you guys the choice," Alex said. "I told you that I'll kill you if I have to. I haven't yet, but I will if I have to." He reached down, grabbed Asia and slung her over his shoulder. "I'm leaving. Do not follow me. I will kill this boy if you do."

Alex looked once between the two devils to make sure that they were not about to move before walking past Issei, removing the light barrier, and climbing up the stairs.

He did not make five steps before a foot from the darkness kicked him square in the sternum, sending him back into the room, sprawled across his back. He looked up at the people following after him, and he felt a sense of deja vu strike him.

"Fucking hell," Alex groused. "Where the hell do you guys keep coming from?"

Rias Gremory crossed her arms and smiled down at him, a cold, unforgiving smile. Behind her was the one who had kicked him, a girl of equal age and height, with long black hair tied up into a ponytail that reached past her waist. She too had a smile on her face, also equally cold.

Alex stood back up and held back a sigh. Great. Once again, he was surrounded.

"Issei," Rias said, and while she looked away from Alex, the girl behind her did not. "Didn't I tell you that you were not to come here?"

"I'm sorry," Issei replied sheepishly, despite the situation, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"And, Koneko," Rias continued. "Issei acting on his own is bad enough as it is. Why on earth would you and Kiba go with him on a mission I explicitly forbade?"

"He asked for help..." Koneko muttered. Despite the fact that Alex had scarcely seen an emotion on the little devil's face, he saw now a flash of shame, like a child caught and reprimanded by her mother for some bad deed.

"Now then, as for you," Rias turned back to Alex, "you will release Yuuto. You will apologize for hurting my servants. And then you will leave this city. If you do not, then I will not leave even a single cell of your body behind."

That, Alex thought, would be smart of her.

"That's fine," Alex said. "I don't have any grudge against you guys. All I'm after is Asia."

"No!" Issei gasped. _"Buchou,_ you _can't._ Don't let him take her. _Please."_

Rias stared at him for a long moment. Then she looked at Alex straight in the eyes and said, "The sister stays with us."

Alex shook his head. "No, she doesn't."

"Then you leave me no choice." Rias raised her hand, and Alex twisted to the side to avoid the blast that he knew was coming. But instead of going for his body, the black bolt of destruction went for the connective tissues that bound the cocooned Kiba to Alex's arm. Koneko rushed forward, scooping up the cocoon, and took it a small distance away and set to work tearing away at the tendrils.

"Akeno, kill him."

As Alex regrew his arm for the second time that evening, the black-haired girl stepped forward, electricity dancing between her fingers.

"With pleasure," she said cheerfully, before thunder resounded through the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Rias and her servants reappeared in their school clubroom in a burst of radiant crimson light, stepping forth from the intricately designed sigil that served as their exit point engraved into the floor. Koneko hurriedly led a dazed Yuuto to a couch at the center of the room, laying him on his back gently. Rias went to the opposite couch, doing the same for the sleeping Asia Argento, whom she carried in her arms.

"Is she going to be okay?" Issei asked from over her shoulder, looking at the sister with concern.

Rias didn't reply right away. She pressed her hand against the girl's heart and felt its rhythmic beating. But she did not at feeling only the physiological – she reached deeper with her senses, to the soul. What she felt there left her disconcerted.

"She's alive," she finally said. "Technically."

"Technically?" Issei echoed. "What are you talking about, _Buchou?_ What do you mean by that?"

"Her body is alive, and will continue to sustain itself normally," Rias explained. "But her soul is damaged. As long as that remains so, she will not ever wake."

"So she's in a coma."

"It's more severe than that, but yes."

Issei grimaced. "How is it possible to even damage your soul?"

"It's not hard, Issei," Rias said. "There are many ways to damage one's soul. In this case, it appears that this sister's Sacred Gear was stolen from her, and rather crudely at that."

"Then does that mean if we can retrieve her Sacred Gear, she'll wake up again?" Issei asked hopefully.

"It's not so simple," Rias answered. "If you rip a piece of paper in half, putting it together again won't make it whole. You need to repair it to make it what it once was."

"Can you do that?" Issei said.

"There are methods," Rias said. "I may be wrong, but I think the ritual used to steal the sister's Sacred Gear was based on the old demonic arts. A very long time ago, before Sacred Gears were ever even created, it was normal for devils to try to steal the souls of humans in order to raise their status. I think the ritual used on her is an evolution of that spell." Rias shook her head, both in wonder and sympathy. "Whoever developed this ritual is ingenious, I'll grant that much at least."

"This isn't the time to be impressed, _Buchou,_" Issei grieved.

"Of course," Rias said. "As I was saying, if we find one of the old masters who still know the ancient spells, they might be able to restore her soul to what it was. The problem is convincing them to help."

"Will it be that hard?"

"It may be impossible," Rias said gravely. "Issei, pretend this is a week ago. If someone asked you what you think devils are, how would you answer?"

"Um... I'm not sure," Issei said. "I would say that they have horns and pitchforks and spiked tails, I guess."

"That's not exactly the description I was expecting," Rias arched an eyebrow, "though maybe I should have. There's a reason why that sort image is prevalent throughout the human world. Devils have always been considered evil, and until relatively recently, we were. Killers, liars, makers of Faustian deals – devils were those who reveled in every sort of sin. It wasn't until my brother and like-minded allies waged war on that old faction of devils that we moved past that and became something better. The problem is that the old masters are still almost all part of that old faction."

"Oh." Issei grimaced. "They wouldn't be willing to help us, huh?"

Rias nodded. "We can find them easily enough – many of them are imprisoned in Cocytus, one of the deeper levels of the Underworld. But if we were to present this sister to them, I'd expect they'd sooner eat her soul than heal her."

"Isn't there anything else we can do?" Issei said, wringing his hands together in front of him.

"Just one other thing." Rias reached into her pocket and pulled out a small crimson chess piece. "If I use this Evil Piece to reincarnate her as my Bishop, that would repair her soul."

"Do it, please," Issei said immediately.

"Hold on, Issei," Rias cautioned him. "I don't mind reincarnating her, if that makes you happy, but I want you to really think about it first. This girl is a Christian. I imagine that she's been raised so all her life. To make her my Bishop is to turn her into the one thing she must revile above all else: a devil. Is that something you're really willing to force on her?"

"Is that even a choice?" Issei said. "It's better that she's alive than dead."

But Rias shook her head. "She may not agree. You were raised atheistic, Issei, so the weight of this decision is different for you. To make her a devil is to deny her Heaven, and that might be a fate worse than death in her eyes. She may even commit suicide once she finds out what we did to her. There have been cases like that, too."

Issei paused and chewed on his lower lip for a long moment. _"Buchou,"_ he finally said. "When I was showing her around town, she told me a lot about herself. Did you know that the Church made her into the holy maiden when she was only nine? She never got a chance to live a normal life. She never even had _friends._ And she told me, you know, that was her dream. She wanted to make at least one friend she could just talk with and hang out and stuff. And she was so _happy_ when I told her that she had already made that dream come true. _I _was her friend. I _am_ her friend. And as her friend, I want her to be able to live so that she can do all those the things that she still wants to do. I don't care if she hates me for it. If it means that she's alive, that's okay. But I won't let her kill herself. Please, _Buchou._ Do it."

"All right," Rias said. "Then stand back."

Issei obeyed, and Rias perched the chess piece on Asia's chest.

"In the name of Rias Gremory," she began to chant, and the chess piece shone red in response, "eighth heir of my family name, I order – renounce your king and lord, for I am your lord and king. Pledge service to my cause, give your loyalty to me and I swear: You shall forget your despair. You will embrace new friends. The wonders of the world shall be yours to seek, from now until the end of your new life. If you would accept this call, then awaken, Asia Argento, my Bishop."

The chess piece sank into Asia's chest slowly, seemingly melting through her dress and flesh. When nothing more happened, Issei looked at Rias with a confused expression.

"She's not waking up," he said.

"She hasn't reincarnated yet," Rias said. "Issei, if you ever intend to be a King like me one day, then remember this: Everything that we do is a contract, and a contract requires both sides to agree upon it."

"You mean you can't just reincarnate her like... poof?" Issei made a gesture with his hands like a bursting cloud.

"There are ways to force it, but you need not know about them," Rias said. "It is knowledge best left forgotten. No, Issei. Did you think that I said those words to sound dramatic? I was outlining the terms of her servitude, what I expect from her and what she can expect from me in return. Now it is up to her to decide whether or not to accept my proposition."

"How can she accept it if she's dead?" Issei frowned. "Well, sort of dead. Soul-dead."

"Even damaged, her soul will respond to her deepest, most cherished desires," Rias said. "If her wishes align with my terms, then she will respond favorably." She glanced aside at her Pawn. "You were like this, too, when I found you dying from Raynare's spear. I gave you my terms, and you accepted."

"Uh, do I even want to know what kind of terms you gave me?" Issei said.

"Well, the big one was that I'd bring you back to life," Rias said, putting a finger to her chin in a thoughtful gesture. "But I heard the rumors about you from school, so I also threw in that you would live a life long enough to see at least one naked woman before you died. Would you like me to recite the full contract again?"

"No, no. Please don't." Issei groaned and buried his face into his hands. _"That's_ what brought me back to life? That is so embarrassing."

"Disgusting," Koneko sniffed, speaking up for the first time since they had returned.

"There, there," Rias patted him on the head. "We devils may not necessarily be evil anymore, but that doesn't mean that we're as virtuous as the angels high up in their Heaven. It's fine to act on whatever greedy desire you might have, as long as it encourages you to get stronger." 

"Ah, _Buchou,"_ Issei sighed gratefully. _"Buchou!"_ he suddenly cried out. "Look! She's waking up!"

"It seems she accepted the deal," Rias smiled. "Well, at least in her heart."

Issei turned to her with alarm written clear on his face. "What do you mean 'at least in her heart?'"

"What the heart wants is not always what the person decides that they want," Rias said. "Hush. This is a critical point, so be calm and greet her with a smile."

"_Mmmnnngh..."_ Asia moaned softy as she began to stir. Her eyelids slowly lifted, revealing her emerald eyes. She rolled her head to the side and her gaze dragged along the room until they rested on Rias.

"Good morning," Rias said. "How are you feeling?"

"Who..." Asia slurred almost drunkenly. "Who are you?"

"My name is Rias Gremory," Rias replied. "A devil. I'm pleased to meet you."

"A devil?" Asia murmured. "Am I... alive?"

"You are," Rias nodded. "And there's someone who is very happy to see that."

"Asia," Issei sobbed and leaned down to embrace her in a hug.

"I... ssei...?" Asia said, bemused. "I'm... alive?"

"You are," Issei said, never letting her go. "You're alive. You're alive. I'm so glad that you're alive."

"I'm alive..." Asia's hands slowly reached up and wrapped around Issei's back. Then the tears started to flow from her eyes as well. "I'm alive. Issei, I'm alive. I'm alive. I'm alive."

"I can see that the two of you need some time for yourselves," Rias said. "We'll leave you two to talk. Yuuto, can you walk?"

"I can," the Knight said quietly. Perhaps something of the scene had touched him too, for his eyes never left the two reunited friends. "I'm not hurt too badly."

"All the same," Rias said. "Koneko, help him."

"Yes, _Buchou._"

"Then let's go," Rias said. But as she turned, the sigil on the floor began shining again. Rias faced it and smiled. "Akeno." It was meant to be a greeting, but when the Queen appeared, holding together a bloody gash that ran from shoulder to hip, it turned into a cry of alarm. "Akeno!"

Rias rushed to her oldest servant's side and caught her just as she began to stumble forward and fall. "Akeno! Akeno!" Rias looked at Asia, whose eyes were wide at the sight of all the blood. "Sister, Issei told me you can heal devils."

"I... I can," Asia stammered. "Here, let me."

The nun got up from the couch and scrambled clumsily over to Akeno's side. She put her hands to the wound and closed her eyes. A soft green light melted over the wound, sealing it shut within seconds.

"Thank you," Rias sighed with relief. "Akeno. Akeno, can you hear me?"

"I can," Akeno murmured. "I apologize, Rias. I messed up."

"Don't worry about that," Rias said. "As long as you're okay, that's all that matters."

"It's my fault," Akeno said dazedly. "My fault. You told me to kill him, but I failed."

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Akeno said. "It was going well at first. I kept hitting him with my lightning, and he couldn't do anything, but he wouldn't die no matter how many times I struck him. It was so exhilarating that I..."

"You lost yourself in your bad habit, didn't you?" Rias said, and despite the situation, she couldn't help but to smile ruefully.

"Yes," Akeno nodded weakly. "But then... I don't understand it... He got fat."

"What?" Rias blinked.

"He became fat," Akeno repeated. "Chubby. And then my lightning couldn't stop him anymore. He kept coming and coming until he managed to slice me with a big blade that grew from his arm. I think... I think he was trying to insulate himself from my lightning."

"How did you get away?"

"Teleported here," Akeno answered. "He tried to stop me, but he doesn't have the power to break the connection once its made."

"I see," Rias said. "Rest, Akeno. You did well."

"Yes, thank you," Akeno mumbled. "I'm sorry, Rias..."

"Akeno!" Issei said in alarm. _"Buchou,_ is she...?"

"She's only sleeping, don't worry," Rias said. "Koneko." The little Rook took the Queen from her and carried her to the couch. "We've bigger problems right now. It appears that, whoever our enemy is, he is capable of adapting his form to better suit his opponent. That makes him dangerous. And chances are good that he'll be looking for us now that we have Asia."

"Um, excuse me," Asia said timidly. "Who's coming after me? What's going on?"

"I was hoping you might be able to tell us," Rias said and explained to her the events leading up to her rescue and described the appearance of the shapeshifting monster – a Caucasian male wearing dark jeans, a black jacket with a red tribal design on the back, a dusty grey-white cowl covering his head, and skin so pale that he might have appeared ill. "Does that ring any bells for you?"

"No," Asia shook her head. "I don't think I've ever met this person before."

"So he was lying," Issei growled. "He wasn't there to rescue Asia at all!"

"So it seems," Rias nodded. "Sister – do you mind if I call you Asia? – I know that this must all be terribly confusing for you. I apologize. Normally I would take the time to properly introduce you, but for now, you are in danger and we do not have the time for that. Rest assured, though, we will all definitely keep you safe. I promise."

"Ah... okay," Asia said hesitantly.

"_Buchou,"_ Yuuto said. "Should I send for Sona?"

"No," Rias replied. "It's not proper for one King to drag another into her own problem. We will deal with this ourselves."

"Yes, _Buchou._"

"For the time being, I want all of us to stay at my house," Rias said, looking at the gathered members of her Peerage. "A shapeshifter can easily blend into any crowd. It's dangerous for us to move out alone. So for now, we'll regroup, recover, and begin searching for him tomorrow."

"Um, if a shapeshifter can blend into any crowd," Issei said, "how are we going to find him?"

"Shapeshifting isn't a rare skill," Rias answered. "Many devils do it to make themselves appear young and beautiful. In fact, if it's just changing appearances, even I can do it." Rias passed a hand over her face, changing it to a mirror image of Issei's. "See?"

"Gah!" he cried out. "Please don't do that. It's really weird seeing me with boobs."

Rias changed her face back to normal. "There are ways to track a shapeshifter – perhaps not for normal humans, but for those with knowledge of magic, it can be done. After all, shapeshifting is an act of magic, and all magic leaves traces that can be followed, if one knows how to look for it. We simply need to find those trails. Then we shall find our little shapeshifter. And once we do, he will pay for hurting you all, that I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Are you sure you won't be needing any help, Rias?"

Rias Gremory smiled faintly at the concern in her normally stoic friend's voice as she held her cellphone to her ear. "No, Sona. This is a problem my servants and I have gotten ourselves into. I won't drag you into it unnecessarily. I just wanted to let you know what we're up to."

"I see," Sona mused. "I was wondering why there were so many familiars in the city. Well, if that's how you feel, I'll respect your decision. But call for me if you need help. My peerage and I will be ready."

"Thank you," Rias said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yes," Sona said. "Later."

The phone call ended, and Rias set her phone down on her desk. With a sigh, she leaned forward onto her elbows and pushed her face into her hands. It had been hours since they had retreated from the fallens' church, and it was morning now. Lack of sleep coupled with the stress and the early sunlight streaming through her windows was giving her a headache.

After they had left the church, Rias had taken her entire peerage back to her mansion. It was the most secure place in the entire city, protected by wards to prevent scrying and barriers to turn back any intruder. Most of her servants had taken to bed quickly. Akeno, whose wounds had been the worst, had nearly fallen asleep while still in her bloodied uniform. Even though Asia had healed her terrible wound, the act of enduring the blood loss and pain had drained the strength out of her.

Issei had been the last to sleep, talking with Asia briefly before also retiring for the night. They had not talked about anything in particular. Little things. They talked about what the date they had gone on before Asia had been taken by Raynare. They considered what they might do again in the future. Rias had been there, too, thinking that she might have time to better explain to the former nun what it meant to now be a devil. She hadn't had the right opportunity to cut in, however, and Asia was largely unresponsive to her attempts to broach on the subject.

Just as well, Rias thought. For a Christian, her current situation was quite possibly the most difficult to accept. It certainly would not happen overnight. In fact, it would be abnormal for it to. But Rias was patient. Whether it took a day or a year or more, she would be there to lend her support, until the time came when Asia Argento could fully embrace her new life.

Rias's thoughts began to drift, as sleep-deprived minds tend to. She thought again about the preparations she had laid out to hunt down the shapeshifter, wondering if it would be enough. She had spent all night charting out patrol paths through the city and gathering enough familiars from her family's manor to patrol those paths. There were over one hundred familiars roaming the city, each searching for the slightest trace of magic not related to the Gremory or Sitri clans.

Surely that must be enough. No, perhaps it was overkill. Rias wasn't sure, and her thoughts began to fade into a murky fog.

Rias leaned heavily against one hand, feeling her eyes close, until she heard the door open and someone clear their throat.

"Ahem."

Rias's eyes opened unwillingly. Akeno was standing at the doorway, wearing one of Rias's spare nightgowns (it was her favorite: a red satin negligee that fell down to the thighs), and had two cups of what smelled to be freshly brewed coffee in her hands. Judging from the slightly disheveled state of her hair, Rias judged that Akeno had only just woken up.

"You should sleep some more," Rias said, her voice slightly slurred.

Akeno arched an eyebrow and set one cup down in front of Rias. _"I_ should sleep more?"

Rias shrugged and took a sip of the coffee. The warmth was heavenly.

"I was going to go to sleep," Rias said. "Soon."

"Uh-huh." Akeno looked at the paper strewn about the desk. They were all copies of the map of the city, with bright markers drawing out the routes Rias had planned for her familiars. "Right."

"How are you feeling, anyway?" Rias said, deciding to change the subject.

"Better," Akeno said. "There's not even a scar left behind."

"Good," Rias mused. "It seems that the famed Twilight Healing is as vaunted as its reputation claims it to be."

"It'll definitely be reassuring to have Asia's support from now on," Akeno nodded.

"Yes, especially for the Rating Games." Rias took another drink. "You have good timing. I wanted to ask you now that you're better, what did you think about that shapeshifter?"

"What did I think?" Akeno hummed, turning her cup around in her hands. "Well, at first I thought how amazing he was. I could keep striking him with lightning enough to have killed a stray devil a few times over, and he wouldn't die. It was so exciting. At the time, I was thinking that he was a toy I would never get tired of."

Rias's lips twitched.

"But I guess you want to know more what he's capable of than how much fun I was having," Akeno said, looking amused.

"I didn't realize that getting cut in half was fun," Rias replied. "I think your hobbies may have become even more perverse, Akeno."

"Yes, well," Akeno smiled ruefully, "all good things have to come to an end, right? Anyway, he's a strange one. He's strong and fast and hard. Tactically, you could think of him as a Queen-piece devil, with additional abilities. His shapeshifting is free and practical, which makes him unpredictable, and he also possesses power over the light."

"That's troubling news," Rias frowned.

"No, not really," Akeno said. "He's not very strong in that area. Only Issei and Asia would have any problems with his light, I think. Its his physical abilities and his shapeshifting to worry about."

"I see," Rias said. "Do you think he's some sort of angel?"

"I don't think so," Akeno said. "He's definitely not one of Grigori, and I can't imagine that one of Heaven's own could ever become like that."

"Peculiar. That's something to think about another time, I suppose." Rias yawned involuntarily. "Excuse me."

"You should go to sleep now," Akeno said. "I'll see to the others for you."

"Would you?" Rias nodded and dragged herself away from the desk and flopped onto her bed. "I'm grateful, Akeno," she mumbled even as her eyes closed again and her consciousness faded to dreams.

"Have a good rest," Akeno said as she took Rias's still mostly full cup and left the room.

* * *

Asia Argento had not slept that night. She laid in her new bed for hours, unable to feel even the slightest touch of exhaustion.

Her new room was extravagant. Her new master had given her the best guest room her mansion had to offer, second only in size to her own. It was a gesture of warm welcome. She was lying on a king-sized canopied bed covered in red velvet sheets. A painting hung on the wall behind it, illustrating a landscape of mountain, lake, and sky. It was surely made by a master artist, Asia thought whenever she looked at it, for it was too real and awesome to have been made by anyone less. An oriental rug covered the floor, a few feet past the foot of her bed, and set on top of it was an elegant tea table and two soft armchairs. To the side, there was a dresser with a large mirror girded in meticulously crafted silver and gold and supplies of makeup. Asia had never used makeup before and did not know how to, so she left them alone.

Her private bathroom, too, had been magnificent. It was so white, golden, and pristine, and the bathtub was large enough for her to swim small laps in once fully filled, had she known how to swim. And the closet – it was easily more than twice as large as the largest room she had ever lived in during her time as the holy maiden of the Catholic Church. It was empty now, but Rias Gremory had promised to fill it with her old clothes for her to choose from in the morning. For the time being, however, she had been given a spare nightgown to change into, her old dress having been in tatters. The truth was, though, she liked seeing the empty closet. It was nice to have at least _one_ place that wasn't so overwhelmingly opulent.

Asia buried her face into one of her pillows. (Her bed had more pillows than she had ever used in her entire life.) She desperately wished she could sleep, for it would have been a blissful escape from the memories that haunted her.

She remembered it all in vivid detail. She remembered how angry Raynare had been for her attempted escape and how she had initially refused to return when found at that fateful park. She had been punished harshly for it, and though her Sacred Gear had wiped away the physical scars, the mental ones still remained.

"_It is fitting that a former servant of God should die like the Son of God,"_ Raynare had said to her with frightening calmness as she chained Asia to that steel cross.

Asia clasped her hands beneath her breasts, feeling her body press down on them into the soft mattress. She held that pose for a moment, and then released. She had learned her lesson after several sporadic and painful attempts throughout the long night.

She could no longer pray.

It was saddening and she refused to believe it at first, but eventually she accepted it as proof that she was now a devil in service of her new master, Rias Gremory. She could not pray to the God whom she had worshiped all her life, for every attempt sent debilitating pain lancing through her skull, as if someone was sinking a sword through her brain.

With a great sigh, Asia rolled over in her bed, just as someone knocked on the door. Asia quickly sat up and bade them enter.

Akeno Himejima walked in, dressed in a lovely nightgown that put even Asia to blush. These devils, she thought, were far more open about wearing such revealing dress in front of others than those of the Church had been.

"Good morning," said the older, black-haired devil. "I hope I didn't wake you too early."

"No, I was already awake." Asia made to stand up to greet the older girl properly, but was waved back down. Instead, Akeno sat down beside her.

"That's good," she smiled. "I wanted to thank you for saving me." She gestured diagonally across her chest.

"Oh, that's not a problem," Asia replied. "I'm just glad that you're okay." She frowned. "You are feeling better now, right? Does it still hurt at all?"

"I'm fine," Akeno laughed. "Perfect recovery. Twilight Healing is as miraculous as it's said to be. You should be proud to hold such a powerful Sacred Gear."

Asia gave her a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

Ever since she had first realized her Sacred Gear, she had always been glad to possess it. The number of people she had helped with it were each reason enough that she would never have given up the power had she had the choice. But to be proud of it? She found that difficult. After all, it was for this that she had been excommunicated from the Church, when one day she had healed a devil like Akeno, and herself now, she supposed, without realizing what he was.

It was deemed a heresy. There were no regrets in her for what she did, but there was a grief, a gaping hole in her life that made such pride impossible.

Akeno noticed and nodded, resting a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "It is difficult to accept what you have become, isn't it?"

"No," Asia replied hastily. "I'm grateful to Miss Rias for saving my life. And I..."

"It's all right," Akeno smiled. "You know, I used to be a priestess, too. Or at least, the daughter of one."

Asia's eyes widened. "Were you a Christian?"

"No," Akeno said. "My mother and I were of the Shinto faith. We worshiped the gods of Japan. It's not the same, but I understand a little of what you're feeling now, I think. It's hard to become what you've been taught to hate, right?"

Asia bit her lip, but after a long moment, slowly nodded.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Akeno asked.

For another long moment, Asia said nothing, not out of hesitation, but to collect her thoughts. All the while, Akeno waited patiently for her to begin.

"I'm just... confused," Asia said. "You're right. I was always taught that devils are all evil, every single one of them. But then I met Issei, and then Miss Rias, and now you, Miss Akeno. Issei is my friend. He showed me around town and tried to save me from Miss Raynare. Miss Rias brought me back to life. And I think only a nice person would be willing to sit down and listen like you are, Miss Akeno. It feels wrong to be anything but grateful, for everything."

"But..." Akeno prompted gently.

"But I still can't help it," Asia sighed. "I'm happy I'm alive, and I'm so thankful that I don't think I'll ever be able to repay my debt to Miss Rias, yet I'm also so unsure of what I've become, and maybe even a little ashamed." Asia wrapped her arms around her head. "It's all so contradictory. I'm sorry. I don't really understand it myself."

"That's okay," Akeno said. "It's actually quite clear what you're trying to say. You're having a hard time reconciling everything you learned in your previous life with the state of your new one."

"Yes," Asia nodded glumly. "Please don't tell Miss Rias about that. I don't want her to get mad for wasting an Evil Piece on me. That's supposed to be very valuable for devils, right?"

"It is," Akeno said. "But you don't need to worry about Rias. She wouldn't get mad over something like that." Akeno chuckled. "It takes a lot more than that to upset her."

Asia smiled. "You must be very good friends with her."

"I tease her _constantly,"_ Akeno grinned. Then it dipped back down into a empathetic smile. "Asia. You should try going to the Underworld."

"Why?"

"Because the image you probably have of our kind, whatever the Church has taught you, is probably outdated," Akeno answered. "We, or at least most of us, aren't the great evil that the Church says we are, not for a couple centuries now. We're all just people, too."

Asia frowned. "I never said you weren't."

"But somewhere in your heart, you were thinking of us as some 'other,' weren't you?"

The frown creased further, and Asia nodded once.

"How do I go to the Underworld?" she asked.

"Rias can take you," Akeno said. "Once this is all over and we've returned to our daily lives, I'll ask her to take you for a visit."

"I would appreciate that," Asia smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Akeno replied. She stood up. "I'm going to go check on the others and get some breakfast made. Do you have any requests?"

Asia shook her head. "No, I'm all right," she said. "I don't need breakfast."

"You sure?" Akeno said. "If you're refusing because you think it's a bother, don't."

"It's not that," Asia said. "I promise."

"Well, let me know if you change your mind, then," Akeno said before leaving the room.

Asia waited until the door was closed before putting a hand to her stomach. How strange it was, she thought. It had been hours since she had last eaten, and yet, she wasn't feeling hungry at all.

* * *

In an alley hidden away from the gloom of the early dawn, Alex Mercer hid from sight. He wore the face of a homeless man, with a shaggy grey beard, a ragged brown jacket so full of holes it did nothing to keep out the wind, and pants and shoes in equal disrepair. He watched from the corner of his eye as a small bird flitted through the air, chirping its song. It perched on a nearby streetlight, staring at him with beady black eyes, before moving on.

Alex grunted and raised the collar of his jacket closer to his face. This was the seventh familiar he had seen in the past two hours alone. Rias Gremory was making a truly concerted effort to find him. Fortunately, it didn't seem like her familiars could see through his disguise.

"Damn," Alex sighed. If only he had been a little faster, he and Asia could have already been boarding a plane destined for New York. In another day, they would have been in Manhattan, and Asia could have restored his sister to consciousness.

But that ship had already sailed. Plan A had sunk. It was time for plan B, a fact that rankled Alex, for it meant that he had to wait that much longer before Dana could be brought back from her coma. He bit back on that growing sense of irritation. The end was in sight. And what was a few more days or even weeks when compared to the months she had already laid as if in repose? For this, he could wait. For this, he could be patient.

Alex dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out what he knew was going to be the key to his plan.

He smiled and turned deeper towards the alley.

He had already won.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It was mid-afternoon when Rias finally awoke. She yawned, stretching her arms out in her bed, when she realized that she had fallen asleep in her school uniform. It felt dirty wearing it, so she washed herself in the bathroom and changed into a casual outfit consisting of a pink camisole and white hotpants. Then she went downstairs, curious as to what the rest of her peerage was up to. But before that, she stopped by her desk to check in on her familiars' progress.

Rias drew a magic circle on the surface of the desk with her finger, leaving a trail of blood-like red that painted itself on the wood. When it was complete, a three-dimensional map of the city appeared over it, holographic in appearance. Blinking dots scattered throughout the map indicated the positions of her familiars, with the color and rate of their blinking indicating any change in their progress. They were all green and were blinking steadily – no change.

Rias frowned and checked the digital clock back on the nightstand by her bed. It had been almost seven hours since she had set the familiars out. True, finding one person in an entire city was a difficult task – more so if he was a shapeshifter – but there were more than a hundred pair of eyes searching for him. Rias had assumed that by now there would have at least been _some_ progress.

Then again, perhaps that was just her impatience speaking. Rias shrugged and left the map as it was. She was certain that before the day's end, there would be a clue for her to follow up on.

She went to find Asia first. As the newest of her servants, Asia required the most oversight and assistance in becoming accustomed to her new life. She wasn't in her room, however, which Rias took as a positive sign. One of her chief concerns had been whether or not Asia would shut herself off from the outside world out of shame for being a devil, but fortunately it appeared that was not the case. Although, that did bring up the very real possibility that she had run away. Rias went to go find the rest of her servants, to see if they knew where she had gone.

As it turned out, all her worries had been needless concerns. She found Asia, along with Koneko, who was snacking on a bowl of honey crackers, watching TV in the main lounge. The large flat screen TV was rendering moving animations of an anime that Rias remembered seeing in passing once, but could not remember the name of. Rias had always been more interested in historical dramas than cartoons, but her Bishop and her Rook were watching with rapt attention.

Rias watched the screen until the commercial began playing, at which point she walked around the couch her servants were sitting on and sat down close beside Asia.

"Do you like anime?" Rias asked.

"Oh. Good morning, Miss Rias," Asia said hastily, finally noticing her presence. She stood up and quickly bowed in respect, but Rias waved her back down, gesturing for her to take her seat again.

"You don't need to bow when we're all alone like this," Rias laughed. "Or call me 'miss.' Just Rias will do. And when you enroll at our school and join my club, club president will suffice as well."

Asia's eyes were wide, as if with horror. "That would be too rude," she declared. "Since I am your servant now, isn't it proper that I address you with respect, Miss Rias?"

"Well, technically, I suppose so, yes." Rias rubbed the back of her neck. Then she gave a wry smile. "All right. If that's what you're comfortable with, that's fine for now."

"Thank you, Miss Rias."

"So what did you think about that show?" Rias asked again. "Did you like it?"

Asia frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. I've never watched a television show like this before. It was very, um, loud. And fast. And colorful, too." She nodded. "It was exciting, yes."

"Good," Rias smiled.

"But I don't understand," Asia said, still frowning. "I don't know much Japanese, but I still understand what's being said on the television."

"That's one of the minor powers of a devil," Rias explained. "We speak in the original tongue, the language mankind used to speak before God split one tongue into many to punish them for their hubris. That's why we can understand any human language, and be understood by them too."

"You're referring to the story of the Tower of Babel," Asia said.

"Yes," Rias agreed. "It's awfully convenient. It lets us establish a contract with anyone, from all over the world."

"I see," Asia mused.

"By the way," Rias said, looking around, "have either of you two seen Akeno and the others?"

"They're in the courtyard," Koneko answered. "Training."

"Training?" Rias arched an eyebrow. "I'm going to go check on them, in that case."

Koneko nodded. Her eyes riveted back to the TV screen. "Commercial's ending."

Rias smiled again. "Then I'll leave you to it. Do you want to come with me, Asia?"

"Yes," Asia said. "I'd like to see what Issei is doing, too."

* * *

The barriers that guarded the mansion protected against any unwanted witnesses, whether by sight or by sound. This made it easy for the large courtyard to be converted into a dueling ground and to freely use one's abilities, and that was precisely what Issei and Yuuto had done.

Rias found the two of them sparring with blunted swords in hand, with Akeno watching from a lawn chair, sipping from a glass of lemonade, smiling ever so faintly every time a particularly nasty blow was landed on one of the two combatants. It was almost always on Issei.

Rias wasn't sure how many rounds the two had fought, but she knew who it was harder for just by looking. Yuuto had a thin sheen of sweat covering his face, which was also seeping down into the light t-shirt that he wore; Issei was running ragged. He breathed in great heaving gasps, his sword practically lead in his hand. It was taking all that he had not to use the broadsword as a cane. The crimson gauntlet that covered his left hand tightened over the pommel of the sword, readjusting then to a proper grip before he once more charged forward.

"Enjoying yourself?" Rias asked as she and Asia approached the Queen.

"Very much so," Akeno replied cheerfully.

Rias drew up two more chairs from nearby for her and Asia to sit down in. "How long have they been at it?"

"What time is it right now?"

"About three."

"Three hours, then."

"Is this all they've been doing?"

"They occasionally take breaks so that Yuuto can give Issei some advice, and to drink water," Akeno said. "But yes. They've been working at this pace."

Rias frowned. "Issei needs to work on his endurance, then, it seems."

Asia looked from the two dueling boys and then to Rias. "Excuse me, but isn't three hours a really long time to be fighting?"

"For a human, certainly," Rias said. "But devils have far stronger bodies than humans. This level of training should only count as a moderate exercise." Rias pursed her lips for a moment. "Although, I'm being too harsh. He's only recently become a devil, so he hasn't fully matured yet."

"I'm sure it must be exhausting to continuously swing and miss, too," Akeno said, pointing at how Issei chopped his sword downward, and how Yuuto deftly dodged it.

"True," Rias agreed. "Whose idea was this, anyway?"

Akeno arched an eyebrow. "Do you not approve?"

"The opposite," Rias said. "I was planning on suggesting it once I woke up."

Akeno smiled. She looked at the former nun and her smile broadened. "When I was talking to Issei, he told me how useless he felt back when he tried to rescue you. Both times. I think he likes you."

"Eh?" Asia blinked. "Issei... likes me?"

And then she blushed a bright red and did her best attempt to collapse in on herself and sink into the ground.

Akeno's smile became something almost wicked. "Oh, yes. He was saying how he regretted being unable to protect you, and how he swore he would never let you feel scared or get hurt again. He was _quite_ passionate with his words, in fact."

Asia turned even redder.

"When you say 'like,'" she mumbled, "you don't mean as in... um... marriage, do you?"

"Oh, my." Akeno's eyes danced. "You're so forward thinking, Asia. I was thinking along the lines of a dating couple. But yes, you're exactly right." She looked at Rias. "What are we going to do? It looks like our junior will be finding a husband before we do." And then the smile suddenly vanished. She bit her lips and lowered her eyes and muttered, "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

The sudden change in mood lifted Asia out of her embarrassment. She looked between Akeno and Rias, noting the apologetic expression on the former and the grim look on the latter. "Um... is something wrong?"

Rias forced herself to smile, reaching out and patting the young Bishop on the top of her head. "It's nothing, Asia. Akeno just forgot about my fiance."

Asia frowned deeply, but if she was curious about the topic, she could read the mood well enough not to ask. Instead, the three turned their attention back to the fight.

By now Issei was on his last leg. His legs were trembling. The slightest breeze would have knocked him over. Yuuto stood facing him, sword held loosely at his side. "Why don't we take a break?" he suggested.

"Y-yeah," Issei replied as he greedily tried to take in as much air as he could. In that lull, he noticed the three girls watching him, and he abruptly locked his gaze back on Yuuto. "One more... one more round first, though."

A bit of Akeno's previous mirth returned to her. She leaned over and whispered to Asia, "I think he's trying to impress you."

The blush returned then, too.

"Now, now, Akeno," Rias chided. "That's enough of that."

"Of course," Akeno said. "Although, as the senior, perhaps I ought to give my cute junior a helping hand?" She stood up. "Yuuto, hang on. Let me have this round."

"Ah... are you sure that's a good idea?" Yuuto said hesitantly. "You were hurt quite badly. You ought to rest a little more."

"Nonsense," Akeno replied cheerfully. "Asia already healed my wound. I'm already back to perfect health."

Issei frowned. "I didn't know you knew how to use a sword, Akeno."

"I'm nowhere near as good as Yuuto," Akeno answered, "but I like to think I'm a fair hand at it." Akeno stuck out one hand, and a rapier-like sword materialized into view, as though withdrawn from some invisible sheath. The sword had an elegant silver basket-hilt, prominent in that it was set with a red jewel, and the thin blade was oddly rounded, almost cylindrical, while the tip was fatter than the blade and shaped like a broadhead arrow.

Issei's eyebrows shot upward. "Is that a Sacred Gear?"

"Yes, but not mine," Akeno said. She hefted the blade, spinning it once in her hand in a smooth, controlled circle. "Yuuto gave this to me as a gift several years ago. It won't ever cut anything, but it's quite useful for when I use my magic. It also makes for a good training weapon in cases like this."

"Oh, well, in that case, sure," Issei shrugged. "Please go easy on me."

"Are you sure about this?" Yuuto asked him urgently. "You should know that–"

"_Yuuto."_ Akeno's voice was absolutely frigid with warning.

The Knight grimaced. He walked over to Issei and gave him a firm squeeze on the shoulder. "Good luck," he whispered, before going to take Akeno's former seat.

Issei looked at Yuuto's back briefly in confusion, before taking up his stance and facing Akeno. "Okay. Let's start."

"Yes." Akeno smiled. "Let's."

And then the blade of her sword separated, splitting into many segments connected by long steel cable. Akeno raised the sword, which had never been a sword, and snapped it. The metallic whip created a harsh crackling sound in the air as a low thrum of electricity began coursing through its length.

"We'll start with a low voltage," Akeno said. "It shouldn't hurt. Much."

But Issei's eyes were wide as he slowly began backing up. Off to the side, Yuuto groaned and slapped one hand over his face.

"T-t-that's not a sword," Issei said, pointing accusingly at the whip. "That's not a sword!"

"Hmm... I don't believe I ever said that it was," Akeno replied with a sing-song voice that spoke volumes of how much she intended to enjoy their match.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The large gate-like doors of the abandoned church stood once more in Alex Mercer's way. It felt like a lifetime since he had last been here, though it had only been the night before. It was a little strange coming back here, Alex thought. He had not expected to see this place again after last night. But then, had things gone the way he planned, he and Asia would have already been halfway back to Manhattan, where she could have healed his sister, woken her from her coma, and put to rest one more terrible memory of the viral outbreak that had ravaged the island county one year ago. But these plans never seemed to go the way he wanted them to.

_What was the saying again?_ Alex wondered. _The best laid plans of mice and men?_

A wind was blowing through the maze of trees and bushes. It gently blew against the doors, causing it to groan on rusty hinges, like the yawning maw of some great beast. Alex stepped inside, and where the blazing afternoon sun had managed to pierce the forest with scant thin ribbons of light, here inside the old building, no light could penetrate its depths. The boarded up windows blocked it all out. The darkness made the scent of death stand out all the more, contrasting deeply with the smell of nature just a few steps back.

Down the central aisle, where the pulpit had once been, the dried bloodstains of Freed Sellzen remained, that unfortunate minion of Raynare's that Alex had killed in his break-in. At some point between then and now, wild animals must have gotten into the building, because the corpse was missing, perhaps dragged away back to a den to be feasted on.

Alex glanced over his shoulder, looking back outside. A bat hung upside down from a tree branch, staring at him intently from a distance away. Alex curled his lips and let the familiar watch him for a minute longer before descending back into the cavernous basement to await the arrival of its master.

* * *

Asia's eyes were closed and her hands held out in front of her, as though she was trying to hold onto an invisible ball. A light breeze swept over her, stirring her dress, caressing her skin. Not too far in the distance, she could hear the sound of swords cutting through the air, and the grunts of effort it took to move them. She did her best to ignore all of them. They were all distractions.

She thought of the sudden spark of static shocking her skin. She imagined what a cut power line might look like, its tendrils of electricity dancing violently from ripped copper wires. And she envisioned the sight of a bolt of lightning coming down from the heavens, like the wrath of God himself.

She felt something move inside her. Something fluid yet solid, nebulous in form, forever changing, bound and limited only by her own imagination. It was the pool of energy she could draw from to cast magic, and she dipped into it now.

Little tines of electricity began circling her fingertips, jumping back and forth from one hand to the other until they created threaded lines, like a moving game of cat's cradle. She held it there for a minute before giving a shuddering sigh and letting the sparks die away, curling in on themselves like dying worms.

"Good job," Akeno said as Asia opened her eyes. The older girl sat across from her, smiling. "You're doing well."

"Thank you, Miss Akeno," Asia said. "It's difficult to maintain the image, though."

"It does take practice," Akeno agreed. "I suppose you're not the type of person who enjoys doing art or writing?"

"No, not really," Asia said. "I enjoy reading, though I used to mainly only read the Bible."

Akeno nodded. "The magic that we devils use is entirely based on imagination. If you can't properly envision what it is that you want to do, then you won't be able to do it. Those without active imaginations will have a harder time utilizing our species' brand of magic than the other forms."

"The Church always told me that all magic was paganism or heresy."

"We're using different definitions of the word," Akeno explained. "Magic is merely the catch-all term for any power that is outside the realm of nature. In that sense, the holy light that the angels use or even the miracles of God can be considered magic. The only difference is in the substance of our power, the methodology of its use, and the limits of what can be achieved."

"I see."

"Well, don't worry too much about all that right now," Akeno said. "Just focus on learning this type of magic."

"Yes, Miss Akeno," Asia said, blowing out a breath and trying to regain her concentration.

"Are you tired?" Akeno said, perhaps noticing the internal struggle.

"My brain is," Asia replied sheepishly. "This is rather taxing on the head."

"There's an easy way to fix that."

"How?"

"Physical exercise," Akeno said cheerfully. "It's a great way of refreshing your mind and refocusing yourself. In fact, why don't you go join Issei and Yuuto over there?" Her smile turned mischievous. "Getting in with two hot, sweaty boys playing with their swords is an excellent form of exercise."

"I've never actually exercised before," Asia admitted. "I think I would only slow them down."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Akeno waved her hand. "I'm sure they'd be quite happy to let you join them." She leaned in and put a hand on Asia's knee. "Here's some advice. When it comes to swords, the most important thing is to choose one of an appropriate size, length, and hardness. You're a fairly small girl, Asia, so you'll want to avoid using any sword that's too big for you. In the worst case scenario, you could even hurt yourself. A normal sized one should be more than enough for you. Why don't you go ask Issei if you can see his sword? His looks like it'd be perfect match for you."

Asia hesitated. There was something about the tone of Akeno's voice that made her think that Akeno didn't mean what she said, or that there was something else she was trying to say that Asia simply wasn't getting. She wondered what that was.

"Akeno," a voice said from behind her with a sigh, "stop teasing the poor girl."

Asia turned around and saw Rias standing there, rubbing her temple and shaking her head in exasperation. Koneko was standing with her too, though she was more attentive to Issei and Yuuto training further out in the yard than to their conversation.

"I wasn't teasing her," Akeno protested gleefully. "I was giving her advice, from senior to junior."

"Stick to giving advice in what you actually know," Rias shot back, glaring at the Queen. Then she turned kind eyes on Asia. "Is your training going well?"

"Yes, Miss Rias," Asia nodded, standing up to properly face her. "Miss Akeno is a good teacher."

"Really?" Rias arched an eye over at Akeno, who shrugged and looked away with mock shy innocence. "She hasn't been doing anything weird?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by weird," Asia said, "but she's been explaining how to do everything very clearly."

"Hmm... unexpected," Rias muttered to herself. Then she said, "Well, I suppose as long as your training is going smoothly, then that's good. It's important that you're able defend yourself."

Asia nodded in grim, silent agreement. Thinking back, had she been able to protect herself against Raynare, Issei wouldn't have nearly been killed and she could have escaped from the fallen angel under her own power. She had never fought before, and the idea of being in one was a frightening thought, but she knew now that running away or having others fight on her behalf was not something she could rely on to protect herself in the future.

"For the time being, continue your training alone," Rias said. "Akeno, you're coming with me."

"Ah, oh no," Akeno cried out dramatically, resting the back of her hand to her forehead as though she was about to faint. "Save me, Asia, from our King's cruel punishment."

"Um... please don't punish Miss Akeno," Asia said obediently.

Rias smiled wryly at her before looking at the black-haired devil. "This is no time for jokes. Koneko, go get Yuuto and Issei, please." The little Rook nodded and fetched the two as she was bidden. When they were all gathered, Rias continued without preamble. "We've found the shapeshifter."

In a flash, all the mirth vanished from Akeno's face. She faced Rias with eyes slightly narrowed, jaws locked, and lips pursed. "How did you find him?" she said.

"I didn't," Rias said. "He showed himself, right in front of one of my familiars." She ground her teeth together. "He was telling us to follow him."

"In other words," Yuuto said, "he wants us to follow him into a trap."

"Most likely," Rias agreed.

"But we're still going after him, aren't we?" Akeno licked her lips as a dangerous glint flashed in her eyes. "How exciting."

"T-this time..." Issei huffed. His breathing was still ragged from training. He wiped the sweat off his face with the back of his arm and took a deep breath to steady his words "This time I'm gonna beat him real good."

"No, Issei," Rias said. "You and Asia are staying here."

"What?" Issei said. "I can fight too, _Buchou!"_

But Rias shook her head. "Yuuto?"

The Knight turned thoughtful, drumming his fingers slowly on the pommel of his practice sword. "If he maintains the current rate at which he's learning, it's going to take him... hmm... four or five months, maybe, before he can adequately defend himself against a decent opponent."

"You told me earlier that I was doing really good," Issei said hotly. "Were you lying?"

"No," Yuuto said. "I meant what I said when I said it. But this is still just your first day of training. You didn't really think that you could beat anyone with a single day's worth of practice?"

"Well... no... but I can help!"

Yuuto shook his head. "It's hard saying this because I know how much this matters to you, Issei, but right now, you're of no help at all. You being there only makes it harder for the rest of us to fight."

Issei reeled backwards, as though struck by a physical blow. He looked at the other boy with an expression of utter shock and betrayal. "How could you say that, man?"

"It's not something I wanted to say, believe me," Yuuto said. "But it's the truth. Stay out of this one, Issei. We can't fight while protecting you the entire time."

"But–" Issei began, but Rias cut him off.

"It's as Yuuto says, Issei," she said. "You are to stay here with Asia. Understood?"

Issei clenched his fists tightly. Then he nodded and grunted out, "Fine. I got it."

Yuuto stared at Issei for a few seconds longer before looking back at Rias. "So, where is he anyway?"

"The church again," Rias replied. "I want you three to go get ready. We're leaving in ten minutes."

* * *

They were here.

Alex looked up at the ceiling of the basement, his eyes searching for the heat signatures of those above ground. There were four human-shaped figures with batlike wings protruding from their backs. They were hovering in the air above the church.

Alex readied himself, hands turning to claws, preparing for their descent and then their battle. But they did not come down. Instead, one of the taller female devils raised her hands above her head. Something searingly hot was gathering there, like a miniature sun being formed. And when Alex realized what it was that was being coalesced, the distant sound of static playing in the air, he knew it was already too late to escape.

"Fuck," Alex said as his skin and clothes turned into a faceless, black chitin armor.

And then the devil unleashed a thunderstorm, and the weight of the entire church collapsed down on him.


End file.
